


Let Tikki Say Fuck

by equilux



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Bisexual Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Multi, Or Is It?, People Watching, Supportive Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), Tikki Is So Done (Miraculous Ladybug), Unrequited Crush, everything is awkward when marinette is in the room, nino tries to be a wingman and get ladybug to go on a date with his good pal, plagg freely says fuck because hes chaotic, polygamy mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:34:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23498338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/equilux/pseuds/equilux
Summary: The day that Marinette realised she was passionately in love with both Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir, she decided to dig a hole deep enough for her to live the rest of her life in.But... ¿Por que no los dos?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Max Kanté/Lê Chiến Kim
Comments: 9
Kudos: 39





	1. and so the game begins (ft. marinette's obsession with dresses)

Lately, it seemed like she’d been sleepwalking through school. Chemistry, Literature, English, Algebra, Human Biology, Earth Science, History, Topography, P.E- all of it continued in a loop like a merry-go-round. Her pineal gland sure loved making melatonin during the school day. Her short, chubby fingers lightly tapped the keyboard of her tablet in a rhythm she thought she’d heard before, trying to look like she was doing something. Something bony and sharp nudged the girl’s side, and she flinched. Marinette’s head turned so fast her neck might’ve snapped in half. Alya’s face greeted her with knitted eyebrows and that distinguishable analytic squint of hers.

“What?” she drawled out, barely having the energy to answer.

“Yo, how much sleep did you get last night?”

“Four.”

“Four hours? Okay, you need to take a nap when you get home.”

She shook her head, “Four minutes.”

Alya’s entire expression dropped, as if she was so surprised that she became incapable of producing emotions. 

“Mari, I’m only saying this because I love you, but what the hell is wrong with you?”

Before Marinette could answer her with “everything”, Ms. Mendeleiev started to call out to the class. The previous muttering in the room that the girl had acknowledged as background noise started to die down as the teacher asked for people to read out their answers to the booklet.

Marinette rubbed her eyes until she saw stars behind her eyelids, hoping the pain of it would sustain herself enough until lunchtime. Hmmmm, lunch- she really wanted to eat something sweet to fight off the exhaustion. As if reminded by the thought of food, her stomach decided to make itself known by screaming in agony. The girl planted her face into the desk and shielded herself with her arms with a sigh. Her right ear pricked up at the sound of someone giggling. Great- can you just _imagine_? The great Ladybug, reduced to shame in class by a stomach grumble.

“Marinette? Can you give us the answer to the first question?”

[Ahahaha](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk90hAlVmzo)… haha… ha.

“Uhhhh,” she sat up, back as straight as a ruler, and started fumbling around her desk in a panic. Pencils rolled away from her as miscellaneous papers shuffled against each other. “Sureee.” 

She furiously tapped on the tablet’s darkened screen, and just as she was going to give some half-baked excuse as to why she didn’t have an answer to Ms. Mendeleiev, a notice popped up on the side of the screen. Huh. Marinette didn’t remember having her airdrop on. From “adri’s mac”? She took a nervous glance at the blond boy in front of her, eyes shifting back to her screen when he turned around and gave her a dazzling smile. She didn’t have to think twice. The girl accepted and opened the document, relief flooding her when she realised that all of the Biology questions had been answered in great detail. She looked up at Adrien, red ears and eye bags included, and mouthed a thank you.

“Yeah, the answer is…”

* * *

“Gee, Marinette, you need to get a freaking hold of yourself! You’re very lucky Adrien sent you the answers in Biology today.”

The girl had to hold in a laugh and purse her lips together as she pretended to sketch in her notebook. Tikki’s high pitched voice was hard to take seriously sometimes. Sure, she was thousands of years old with tremendous power and unlimited knowledge- but the kwami also loved chocolate chip cookies and her spiciest swear word was “jinkies”. 

“I’m sorry Tikki- I need to get better at managing my sleep schedule. But, who decides to have a tantrum at three in the morning because the local Seven-Eleven didn’t have Lays chips in stock- and then become an akuma victim in the process?”

The red kwami looked ready to jump out of the purse she was tucked in and strangle Marinette. “Marinette, you can’t invalidate people’s emotions- that’s very insensitive. People’s experiences are individual and shouldn’t be judged. And you can only blame Hawkmoth for preying on these poor people.”

The teenager only nodded guiltily and absentmindedly scribbled on her paper. There was still thirty more minutes of lunch left, and since Marinette needed less than a minute to get to the bakery and back, it left her with a lot of time on her hands after eating a delicious, warm meal at home. She could have spent the rest of it napping in her bed, but who knows what time of day she’d get up? There weren’t that many people staying behind for lunch at school anyway, so the girl decided to sit on a bench in the courtyard and brainstorm some gown designs. It was peaceful, and the only thing Marinette had to worry about was if people decided she was crazy for whispering to herself. Tikki retreated into the purse, the dark haired girl realised.

She once again rubbed her eyes, dragging her hands down her face in misery, when a cup filled with ice and a caramel liquid was thrust in front of her face. Marinette’s blue eyes went wide, blinking rapidly, as she leaned her body away from the large cup. Oh, but a hand was attached to the cup. And… An arm was attached to the hand. A person was attached to the arm. And that person was glowing and tanned from the afternoon sun, wearing crisp and ironed clothing, light shining and creating the illusion of a halo in his hair, with eyelashes that reached the clouds overhead… 

“Here, for you.”

She let out a sound that resembled a surprised cat when their owner pets them unexpectedly. 

“Oh, thanks Adrien… What is it?” warranted a smile from the boy that rivaled the warmth of her Papa’s freshly cooked croissants and brewed hot chocolate.

“Coffee. Iced, of course. It’s a bit too hot today for anything else, really.”

“ _You’re_ hot…” she murmured(talking to herself out loud had become a common occurrence, and as much as she wished it didn’t happen, the blond boy had heard her muttering- and all the creepy, breathy thirst comments before and after that), “Oh my god, thank you so much! You’re back really early… Wait! How much was it!? I’ll pay you back…”

As Marinette dug into the pockets of her backpack, the boy simply waved his hands. “I was coming back from home and we happened to go by a café. Nathalie wanted to get an apple pie, so I asked her for an iced coffee. It wasn’t a problem at all- don’t pay me back, _please_!”

She paused rummaging through her bag in confusion, “But-… what’s the occasion?”

“I heard you and Alya talking in Biology,” he looked away guiltily, almost ashamed of himself for eavesdropping, “and I remembered you at lunch. I didn’t want you to be tired for the rest of the day, so…”

The girl took a longing look at the whipped cream and chocolate shavings squashed under the cap of the cup as Adrien laughed bashfully. Her heart ached. The teenager pushed the cup closer to her face, and she had no choice but to take it. A grin looked unnatural on her weary, freckled face- but whatever. Marinette scooted to the left, putting her leg under herself as she tapped the spot next to her. 

“Well, we have thirty minutes left, so sit next to me!” she offered, taking a long sip from the iced coffee. 

Adrien almost glided into his spot- smooth, like silk. Like every move was planned since the beginning. He made the mistake of noticing and asking about her designs in her sketchbook. Oh boy. Here we go.

As the dark haired teenager started rambling about the fabric of a mermaid tail dress(silk), her mind couldn’t help but go into overdrive. Why did Adrien remember her? He could have easily pretended that he didn’t hear her and Alya’s conversation. Maybe he was reminded by Nathalie mentioning the café? But, what if he was just using that as an excuse!? Maybe he went out of his way to go there and order an iced coffee- just for her! She couldn’t help the smile that edged its way onto her face. He was really thoughtful… Ooooohhhhhh my go- and he didn’t _want her_ to be tired for the rest of the day!? It sounded cheesy, but Marinette’s heartstrings tugged from the warmth she felt. People say that their hearts and minds were always at war- but for her, it was like her heart did all the work while her brain hyped it up.

While Adrien started giving second-hand advice from his dad about her dress, she couldn’t help but admire how mature and sensitive the blond was. Suddenly, Marinette was thinking about adopting a hamster and being married to this boy. You might think she was childish- just like her crush on Angelo Bañaga when she was eight. But this was _different_ \- Adrien was way more caring, sweet, and attentive than Angelo Bañaga was at the premature age of eight.

She was oh so hopelessly, impetuously, head over heels in love with Adrien Agreste.

* * *

_MarinetteLadybugTikki_ stared up at the stars of Paris- or the lack of. She frowned, realising that the stars would be brighter and more abundant in the countryside. The hero leaned on her right leg, wondering what it would be like to live in an area like Gordes or Cluny- or maybe the Phoenix Islands in the South Pacific. Ladybug flipped her yoyo open- it was quarter past eleven. The hero decided to sit on the ledge of the roof, gaze watching the bustle of people still continued at this hour of the night. She was in the busier neighbourhoods. Marinette felt like a cat- sitting on a ledge and observing the world go by. A group of people in the distance roared with laughter, a couple were holding onto each other as they stumbled home together, and a man was lying on the grass of a park. She squinted at the lying man- she’d have to make sure he wasn’t dead. If he didn’t move in the next twenty minutes then she’ll call the ambulance.

There was crunching on gravel, and a distant “Heeeeyyyyyyyy!”

Ladybug leaned out and twisted to the left, noticing Chat Noir on the cement path below. The hero used his staff to elevate himself onto the roof. She smiled as a greeting.

“Hey, Ladybae! Let’s play tag.” he was almost breathless- flushed and with wind kissed hair.

“Oh my-… never call me that again.” Marinette laughed, holding her stomach with laughter as Chat Noir curtsied. He held his pinched fingers out from his sides like he was holding the skirt of a dress, and turned to sprint away from her. Apparently she was it. Ladybug chuckled and ran to catch up with the cat, leaping from roof to roof. She couldn’t help but think about how he could look good in a dress. He certainly had the body for it. But what type of dress? She threw her yoyo at a street light, and as it wrapped tightly around the bent pole, her legs threw herself off of the roof and to the pavement. The man lying on the grass erased himself from her memory. 

“Come back here, Chaton! I’ll get you!” she laughed through ragged breaths. Her feet slapped against the ground, whilst Chat Noir’s made no sound at all- like a cat. Very befitting.

They raced through the narrow streets of the neighbourhood, nearing a short brick bridge that went over La Seine. She was catching up just as the other hero jumped on the balustrade, arms going up to balance himself. There was just the tiniest curve in his waist, and his thighs looked more muscular compared to his upper body. Wait… 

“You know, I think you’d look good in a body con dress!” 

The blond’s head whipped around, struck with... shock? Embarrassment?

“What!?” he asked just as his foot slipped, and he was almost sent careening into the river. Marinette grimaced, immediately sending her yoyo out to wrap around Chat Noir and pull him backwards.

“I said,” the teenager grabbed him under the armpits before he fell onto the ground, “I think you’d suit a body con dress.”

“Wha- do, ah, um, bffpffpba uuuhhhhh…” he stumbled over his words as Ladybug watched in amusement. He jumped out of her arms and fidgeted awkwardly- buzzing with energy. The dark haired hero shrugged and smiled innocently, as if she hadn’t said anything strange and random. Sometimes it was cute to see Chat Noir go from confident and charming to a red faced mess. 

“W-well, uh, maybe next time we… meet- um, I should wear one? How’s that f-for you?” He tried to recover himself. Ladybug just reached out and scratched him under the chin. The blond couldn’t help but purr. She wondered how he did that. 

“I was going to give you this when you caught me… But I think it’s a bit flat.”

Marinette was presented with a red rose- just the slightest bit squashed. The thorns had been plucked off, so she tucked it behind her ear. Chat Noir’s eyes were still closed from when she scratched his chin. She smiled and shook her head.

“Come on, let’s go check on a guy that I think might be dead.”

* * *

Apparently, the guy _wasn’t_ dead, but had an epileptic fit and had been unconscious for eight minutes.

  
  
  
  
  


Chat Noir and Ladybug called an ambulance.

Now? They were lying down on the grass, watching the few stars in the sky. Marinette tried staring as far as she could into space, but gave up when all she could see was dark blue. She sighed.

“I’m starting to feel pretty crappy now.”

“Why?” the blond asked, the tiniest bit of concern creeping into his voice.

“Before we started tag, I saw that guy on the grass. I was going to call an ambulance, or check on him- but I just. Completely forgot about him. Should’ve called first before starting the game, honestly… What if he hit his head and got a concussion? I could have helped him, if I was empathetic enough… I guess that’s what I need to work on if I’m going to keep being a hero.”

“Yeah.” was all he said, but she didn’t mind. It was all she needed.

Silence passed- a comfortable one. Marinette turned her head to look at Chat Noir. He was still looking up, lips pursed- until his mouth opened.

“Hey… do you ever wonder what it’d be like to fly into space? We’d have to have the proper gear, obviously, or we’ll die. But what would it be like to just explore the Milky Way? No one could stop us, because we’d be the only ones in space.” the blond cushioned his head with a hand. “I don’t want to feel tied down like this- I want to see and experience everything.”

She hummed in thought. What did he mean by “tied down”? Ladybug shook her head. No, she couldn’t pry into his life. She couldn’t know who he was, or they’d put each other in danger. The teenager opted to ignore the itching thought and try looking into space again.

It was a quiet night. No signs of an akuma attack- just her and Chat Noir. She felt calm and detached from reality. All that existed right now was the grass, the sky, him, and her.

She couldn’t help but remember having a sleepover with Apollina Michelakos two years ago. They were snug in their sleeping bags on her balcony, counting as many stars as they could. Ladybug remembered her heart beating like crazy for the outgoing, free-spirited girl next to her. Oh, but Apollina Michelakos from when she was twelve could _never_ compare to Chat Noir now. She had never made Marinette feel so strong and wild and free like Chat Noir did. 

She was oh so unfortunately, intensely, heart eyes kind of moonstruck with Cha-

Wait.

  
  
  
  
Haven’t we been through this already?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Oh fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i stayed up until 3 writing this, so i hope it doesn't have any typos!
> 
> i personally didn't like the way marinette expressed her crush for adrien in the show. she was kind of obsessive? like, this girl had his entire timetable memorised and planned out a billion christmas presents for him???? that's not usually how 14 year old girls have crushes. so, i sort of.... altered(?) her personality and the way she interacts with adrien in general. she's just a bit more scrambled and jittery, plus she has no brain to mouth filter. she also falls pretty fast and deep for anyone she puts her eye on but hey, that's just hopeless romantic girl syndrome
> 
> *PSA* this is also slightly diverging from canon since, ya know, ladybug actually has feelings for chat noir here soooo it's new territory


	2. in which suspicions and bracelets were made at two am

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact i have a spotify playlist that i play whenever i write this fic, do any of you want the link so you can listen too?
> 
> anyways- enjoy some marichat i wrote for ya

It was safe to say that Marinette dreamed of wrapping her arms around Adrien as they splashed together in the ocean and drinking chilled lemonade with him on a Summer’s day.

But Marinette wouldn’t mind dancing in the moonlight with Chat Noir and holding hands under the cover of midnight whilst walking through the streets.

The two couldn’t be any more different, but that was exactly why she liked the both of them so much. Every time she tried comparing them against each other, Marinette only fell deeper. She rolled over in bed (she finally had a decent night of sleep- about five hours), waking up her phone to see that she had around thirty minutes to get ready. For her, that was all the time in the world. 

“Morning, Marinette!”

Tikki’s flying form came out of nowhere, slamming into the side of her face. The girl reached up to pet the kwami’s head with a smile. 

“Good morning.”

As per usual, Tikki was buzzing around her room like a child with a sugar high. That might’ve been half true- the ladybug kwami had a habit of sneaking into the kitchen and taking a few sweets when no one was around. The dark haired girl stared at Tikki with apprehension- she knew about her crush on Adrien, but was oblivious to the fact that Marinette liked Chat Noir. Ever since day one, the kwami was adamant about keeping her identity a secret. However, the teenager didn’t know whether Chat Noir’s kwami had the same rules. Probably, right? Marinette sat up and massaged the back of her neck before descending down the ladder of her loft. How would Tikki react to her crush on Chat Noir? Shock? Anger? It was hard to tell.

She decided to not inform the kwami.

The girl plunged her face into a handful of water, and when she resurfaced, a familiar red body was watching her before coming forward to rest on Marinette’s shoulder. She grinned and lifted her hand to playfully splash some water in Tikki’s face. 

She shrieked, almost falling over as the teenager simply laughed. The kwami huffed (although the smile on her face betrayed the annoyed sigh) and gripped onto a strand of Marinette’s navy hair. While Tikki held on for dear life, Marinette focused on washing her face and putting her skin care on. She stared at herself in the mirror, gripping onto the basin of her sink. A fingernail rapped the white marble, signalling that the girl was deep in thought. She tried not to think twice as her hand reached for the mascara tube discarded to her right side. 

Just a little would be fine, right? 

* * *

You can never teach an old dog new tricks, apparently. 

Even though she had woken up early, Marinette was  _ still _ late to class (specifically eleven minutes and thirty-four seconds late). As the teacher was turned to the board, she shuffled into Literature with hunched shoulders and feathery footsteps. Miss Bustier coughed, causing the girl to freeze in place. 

She turned to see the woman wheezing into a tissue, back still facing the class- the teenager quickly scurried to her desk before she could waste anymore time. Alya was holding her forehead in her palm, lips pursed together as if she was holding in a giggle. Marinette lightly punched the brunette’s shoulder as she sat down. She couldn’t help but notice the seat in front of her was empty- was Adrien sick? Or was there another reason he wasn’t at school?

“Okay everyone, last lesson I asked if you could write me a paragraph on question four- what was it again?” the teacher paused as Max answered her. “Right! Right. You were supposed to answer what the purpose of Stanley’s physical description was in “Holes”. Anyone want to share their paragraph?”

There was an awkward pause- nobody wanted to risk their ego in case their answer was below par. Miss Bustier looked around the room until her gaze was fixed on a blonde in the first row.

“Okay- Chloe? Could you give us your answer?”

The entirety of the class had their eyes locked on the blonde- not with malicious intent, but curiosity. Marinette saw her snatching the paper that Sabrina subtly slid over. Chloe stood up, hand on her hip as the other clutched the paper in front of her face. The dark haired girl couldn’t help but be envious of her figure. The future inheritor of Le Grand Paris was thin- but had well defined muscles. If you were a creepy old man you might’ve called it an “hourglass figure”, but since Chloe was still fourteen the only way Marinette could describe it as was athletic. It was a figure that the teenager thought you could get from intense sports and well balanced, nutritional meals (and, of course, genetics- but Marinette didn’t remember to take that into account). 

Meanwhile, the only thing Marinette would inherit was her Papa’s bakery- and since birth she had been raised on bread and sugar(don’t get her wrong, she was proud of his work and how her dad was considered the best baker in Paris). Most of her muscle and fat was carried in her shoulders, similarly to her dad. But lately, as Ladybug, she felt stronger. Jumping and running around sure got a sweat out of her. Sure, she wasn’t lithe (and her shoulders and arms had been burdened with most of her muscle mass), but she had started to become prouder of her body. Her mother had once inquisitioned her about her sudden strength, and Marinette had excused it for late night jogs and workout videos she found on Youtube.

“Thank you Chloe, your use of evidence was incorporated well into your response and I like that bit about emotional growth- what would have been good is…”

Marinette sucked in a plume of breath, happy that she hadn’t been chosen to read her paragraph out. She spared a glance at the document that had been hurriedly pulled up when she sat down. It was half-assed, she could admit. The five sentence paragraph was crafted at one in the morning when the teenager was bleary eyed and falling asleep at her desk. 

Suddenly, it felt like a jet of air had blown into her eyes. The girl quietly yelped(in hindsight, it seemed that Miss Bustier decided to crack open a window when there had been a coincidental gush of wind). Now, if there was anyone here that Marinette would have wanted to compliment her for her eyelashes, she would have just blinked away the pain in order to keep her mascara in line. But alas, there was no such person ( _ cough _ boy _ cough _ ).

She then proceeded to scrub her eyes.

* * *

What was the purpose of her obsession with stars? Whichever cosmic being had created her, they sure liked planting the romanticised idea of the galaxy in her head. Such ideas are what led her out to her balcony in the dead of night for her monthly musings on life.

Unfortunately, there wouldn’t be any musings on life tonight. Instead, the teenager leaned her elbows on the railing and took out her phone. 

12:49 am  
[damn son these bitches want some]:  _ did adrien tell you why he wasn’t at school today? i’m a bit worried :( _

12:51 am  
[hey freddie can i um]:  _ nah he’s prob just sick _

Marinette threw her head back and huffed. Not even Nino knew why the blond hadn’t been at school? That little nagging feeling of curiosity from that morning had found its way back into her head. 

12:51 am  
[damn son these bitches want some]:  _ aaaah damn okay _

12:52 am  
[hey freddie can i um]:  _ i mean u could always ask him (shrugging emoji) _

True. She could just ask him. But what if he  _ was _ sick and Marinette was bothering his well deserved sleep with a text at one in the morning? But… What if he didn’t go to school because of an emotionally scarring event and he needed comfort? How would she even  _ start _ a conversation if that was the case? She discarded her phone to the side and pulled on her hair in distress. Well, she could always ask if he needed the notes they took in class that day. Yeah- that could work. Adrenaline saturated her veins as she took her phone back and pivoted to lean her back on the railing.

1:02 am  
[marinette (woman tipping hand emoji)]:  _ hey! sorry for the rlly late text but did u want the notes we took from today? _

It took a while to send it- but when she did, Marinette silently screamed and melted to the floor. She hoped she wasn’t disturbing him.

_ Ding! _

… What was that? A phone notification? It didn’t come from Marinette’s phone- but it didn’t sound too far away either… 

She looked up- to the chimney- and saw a pair of glowing green eyes. The teenager yelped, and attempted to dive for the roof hatch. Marinette would have retreated back to her room, had it not been for her noticing a leather tail and blond hair. She paused.

“… Chat Noir?”

The hero was creepily crouched on the small space of the brick wall. He seemed to curl in on himself in shame. 

“Yes?”

A justified wave of annoyance washed over her, “What the hell? Why are you sitting next to my chimney and watching me? That’s just creepy, dude.”

Although it was dark (the only light came from the fairy lights on Marinette’s balcony and his eyes), the dark haired girl could see Chat Noir’s face go red from embarrassment and guilt.

“I’m sorry. I promise I won’t go full-on stalker and watch you without your consent again.”

Marinette huffed for the second time that night, pointing to a spot on the timber flooring of her balcony. When the blond hesitated, she squinted at him and cleared her throat. She then watched him soundlessly jump from the brick wall to her balcony with rapture. 

“What’s your excuse?” the words came out monotonously, but in actuality- Marinette felt amused just the tiniest bit. Chat Noir was still flustered from being spotted spying on her, fiddling with his fingers. 

“There weren’t many people out tonight- so then, um, I saw you. And, uh, I was wondering what you were doing. I-I didn’t want to bother you, though! Um, so I just…”

She couldn’t help the smile stretching over her face. As Ladybug, she understood how bored a person could get being alone on a roof all night- waiting for something to happen. She’d be a hypocrite if she said she didn’t people watch sometimes. A part of it was from boredom and nosiness, the other from hopeful thinking that she could stop an akumatisation. She guessed that those same reasons applied for the blond hero. 

“I forgive you. But next time, just come and talk to me instead of watching from the shadows like a creep.”

Chat Noir nodded, the waves of his hair bouncing with the rhythm of his head. 

“So… what  _ were _ you doing?”

“I just texted my friend- he wasn’t in class today so I asked if he wanted my notes.”

“O-Oh,” he laughed(almost nervously?). “What’s that over there?”

She ignored how it seemed like he wanted to change the conversation and followed Chat Noir’s clawed finger pointing to the red metal box hiding under her beach chair. Oh, her old diy jewellery box.

“Hm, it’s been a while since I used that.” Marinette used her foot to ease the box out of its place and flicked the latch open. “Want me to make you one?”

And that’s how, at one-fifteen in the morning, Marinette and Chat Noir started making bracelets for each other. 

She watched over him trying to make a letter with fine silver wire, making sure his clawed gloves wouldn’t get caught in the needle nose pliers. The teenager looked back to the tumbled stones she was trying to organise. Ruby zoisite, red jasper, then dalmatian stone, red jasper twice and another ruby zoisite. She bit the inside of her cheek- it looked okay. Marinette glanced at Chat Noir again- he was now working on making a wire wrapping for three of the stones he picked out. She was absentmindedly fiddling with the silver chain on the table when the girl noticed the hero’s tail resting on the curve of the table. With a poke, the length of leather jolted, swaying in the air a few times, then went to lie on the table again. Her eyebrows knitted together.

“How does your tail do that?”

“Humm?” Chat Noir was still enchanted by the wire he was trying to shape. Marinette poked his tail again.

“Do you consciously move your tail, or does it just have a mind of its own?”

The blond was brought out of his stupor, “It’s like a sidekick that wants to do its own thing and only listens to you sometimes. Sometimes when I’m fighting and I lose my balance, it grabs onto a pole to keep me from falling… But I catch it mimicking how I’m feeling at times- it’s a bit weird, really.”

“It  _ does _ seem a bit strange. But it’s kind of cute- uh, the  _ tail _ is cute. How… um, it likes to do it’s own thing.” she added with a flush. Oh crap- now Chat Noir was staring at her. This was a bit embarrassing. She stared back, too stubborn and awkward to start talking again.

Marinette silently appreciated the green of Chat Noir’s sclera and irises. The colours were so similar, it was hard to tell where the iris and sclera separated. There were flickers of yellow and brown in the centre- near the vertically split pupil. She could see the pink and orange reflections of her fairy lights in his eyes. Marinette saw movement in her peripheral and almost winced away.

Chat Noir’s index finger reached up to her face to wipe her cheek. She sat, stunned. All he did was look back down to the wire he was still trying to bend. 

“You had mascara flakes on your face.”

The dark haired girl huffed (third time that night), stomach feeling a bit queasy, and put on a wobbly smile. “Thanks.”

Marinette went back to her bracelet after noticing how the blond’s tail stood up straight and started to quiver slightly. She made a mental note to look up cat tail language later. Maybe if she had her own tail in that moment, it’d be in the shape of a heart.

* * *

After she and Chat Noir finished making their bracelets, they promptly swapped them over before the hero made an exit. Said exit was jumping off the metal railing and using his staff to vault himself over a few roofs(very extra, in her opinion). Marinette woke her phone up- almost two. She should get some sleep. It was Saturday tomor- today, and she was going to see a movie with Alya. 

The teenager crawled back into her bedroom, hastily climbing down the ladder of her loft and going to the bathroom. She had to get this mascara off her face. But before she had the chance, a red figure floated into her vision. 

Tikki was gripping onto a mini cupcake(blueberry or chocolate? It was hard to tell in the darkness) and raising her eyebrows at Marinette. The kwami didn’t actually  _ have _ eyebrows, but if she did- she’d be raising them at the teenager. 

“Seems like you and Chat Noir were having fun.” 

Marinette felt her stomach flip- not like it had been with Chat Noir. No, the stomach flipping was her intuition telling her that it was getting bad vibes. 

“Uh… Yeah? We made bracelets-” Marinette held out the blue, pink, and yellow stoned bracelet to her kwami. Tikki eyed it with suspicion.

“Okay… I trust you to make good decisions (translation by Marinette: I don’t trust Chat Noir to make good decisions, so you’ll have to make sure you make them), so I’m off to bed.”

“… With that cupcake?” 

A silent nod was the only response.

The girl scurried away to the bathroom, looking over the bracelet in her hand. The cursive “M” in silver wire looked like it was going to slip off the silver chain, and the wire around the pink quartz was scratched. The blue dumortierite and yellow opal were a bit too loosely encased in the wire, as it made a rattling noise whenever Marinette moved too quickly. The feeling of butterflies(happy ones this time) rushed into her stomach and she put her cold, clammy hand on her face to cool it off. 

It was beautiful.

But she still couldn’t help but remember Tikki’s look of suspicion. 

She was in deep shit, wasn’t she?


End file.
